Anheuser-Busch
St. Louis, Missouri, USA · Est. 1852
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The largest brewer on earth, and a portfolio that reads as a list of things it could not become. American Ale lasted three years. Golden Wheat lasted three. Oculto lasted two. Prohibition Brew, the first alcohol-free attempt, lasted four before being retired and rebuilt as Budweiser Zero. Every time the market moved, Anheuser-Busch launched an imitation, watched it fail, and then bought a brewery that had already done it — Goose Island, Elysian, Golden Road, Wicked Weed. The discontinued list is the more honest half of the portfolio: it is the record of what a company this size cannot simply decide to be.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1852Founded
Anheuser-Busch begins brewing in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 2008Merger
Merged with InBev in 2008 to create the largest brewing conglomerate in the world.
The People
Behind the beer
Married into the Anheuser family; built the first national American beer business on refrigerated rail and pasteurisation.
The Beer Library
Beers
Budweiser
Year-RoundAmerican Pale Lager
The 1876 original, and still the reference point every other beer here is defined against.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Light
Year-RoundAmerican Light Lager
The lighter, lower-calorie version that outgrew the beer it was named after.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser Select 55
Year-RoundAmerican Light Lager
Fifty-five calories. The name is the specification.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser Zero
Year-RoundNon-Alcoholic Beer
Alcohol-free, zero sugar, launched 2020 — the second attempt at this category after Prohibition Brew was retired.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Ice
Year-RoundAmerican Ice Lager
Higher-strength ice beer. It outlived Bud Dry, which was aiming at the same drinker.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Light Platinum
Year-RoundAmerican Strong Lager
Bud Light at higher strength — the line extension that goes the other way.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Light Seltzer
Year-RoundCraft Seltzer
Not beer. Included because the archive records what a brewery actually sells.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser Chelada
Year-RoundBeer Cocktail
Budweiser blended with Clamato. Divisive by design.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Michelob Ultra
Year-RoundAmerican Light Lager
The low-carb lager that became the growth engine while the flagship declined.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Dry
RetiredDry Lager
1990–2010. “Why ask why? Try Bud Dry.” The dry-beer style never took hold, and Bud Ice took the drinker it was chasing.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser American Ale
RetiredAmerican Amber Ale
2008–2011. A darker, hoppier, top-fermented ale launched as craft beer took off. Three years.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Light Golden Wheat
RetiredAmerican Wheat Ale
2009–2012. A hefeweizen aimed at craft wheat drinkers. Three years.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Budweiser Prohibition Brew
RetiredNon-Alcoholic Beer
2016–2020. The first modern alcohol-free attempt. Retired and replaced by Budweiser Zero — the same idea, four years later, done properly.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bud Ice Light
RetiredAmerican Light Lager
1994–2010. Bud Ice, with fewer calories. A line extension of a line extension.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Oculto
RetiredFlavoured Lager
2015–2017. Tequila-flavoured, aged on agave. Discontinued within two years.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Red Wolf
RetiredAmerican Amber Lager
1994–1998. A red ale for the mid-nineties, when red was briefly the category everyone wanted.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1852Founded
- 2008Merger
Merged with InBev in 2008 to create the largest brewing conglomerate in the world.
Today the chain tops out at Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Straight answers
Common questions about Anheuser-Busch
- Who owns Anheuser-Busch?
- Anheuser-Busch is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser-Busch is based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Is Anheuser-Busch still independent?
- No. Anheuser-Busch is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev and is no longer independent.
- When was Anheuser-Busch acquired?
- 2008. Merged with InBev in 2008 to create the largest brewing conglomerate in the world.
- When was Anheuser-Busch founded?
- Anheuser-Busch was founded in 1852 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
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